Chain Tensioners Estimate - Wichita KS

I have an engine tick that increases with revs but disappears over the 2000-2500 rev mark. Had a lot of people tell me its probably tappets/lifters, exhaust leak etc. Took it to a guy named Mo in Wichita, KS (anyone know him? I remember someone posted about him a while ago but every time I search I get a $htload of posts about Missouri lol. Long story short he moved away to Huntington Beach and is back. Maybe you Cali guys know him?) and he said his money is on it being a chain tensioner but wouldn't know for sure until he's in there naturally. Anyways he estimated about 2500 for the job, but could go up from there depending on manifold bolts, hoses, other wear parts as he's in there. Is this a pretty reasonable estimate? His shop rate is 125/hr which works out to about 20 hours if you exclude parts. Also - should I buy parts myself? I have an AOS I was going to replace myself but if he's dropping the engine its a no-brainer to give that to him to install also. I appreciate your input.

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Been awhile but I was impressed with the Wichita KS Porsche dealer service department. It fixed my Boxster after I hit some road debris -- tire carcass -- on 50 highway east of Strong City KS. AFIAK, manifold bolts are not wear items. Maybe they are not reusable and need to be replaced. Generally the shop wants to "buy" the parts. The shop gets them at a lower price than you but of course adds a mark up. At an indy shop here in CA I was told when I wanted to supply the oil cause the indy shop wanted to use 15w-50 instead of 0w-40 "No" because the owner told me he needed to the profit margin on the parts/supplies to make up for his low shop rate. Well, his low shop rate wasn't that low and I didn't have the oil service done there and in fact haven't been back. $125/hour for an indy in Wichita seems a bit rich. Dealer here in Livermore charges $150/hour. I think the engine has to come out to get to at least one tensioner. If not the engine the transmission. For the price, all I have to offer is an RMS repair for my 2003 Turbo which essentially is a tranny R&R cost $1700 at a dealer. So, $2500 "sounds" about right as the tensioners are probably not cheap and there are some new bolts, sealant, and other items that replacement. Exhaust bolts/fasteners can be a pain as one or more always breaks during the exhaust system removal. Oh, and the labor to replace the tensioners is more than the labor to remove a leaking RMS and install a new one.

Isaac.. Are you talking about replacing the chain tensioners or chain tensioner ramps, because there is a big difference. I had my Boxster S tensioners replaced last week by the local Porsche dealer (the cheapest of 3 quotes) and the bill for supply & installation was just over $1000. Its relatively simple as the 3 x tensioners are mounted externally and the whole job can be completed in about 3 hours. The tensioner ramps / pads (generally) need the engine to be removed to access the plastic ramps so the bill will be much steeper. Replacing the ramps with the engine in situ is a real pain by all accounts There are two ways to check if the ramps are worn - 1) brown plastic bits in the sump and the oil filter and 2) checking the camshaft deviations with a Durametric or Porsche tester. Its a 5 minute job to check the deviation wit a Durametric and gives you a good indication of the state of the camshaft timing, which changes as the ramps wear. I have not heard of chain rattle @ 2000-2500rpm caused by worn tensioners but I suppose if the chains are very worn & stretched it could happen, but then you will need more than just wear pads and tensioners..... If you have a 3.6 litre engine, there has been a lot of talk regarding bore scoring which sounds like a "tick" at idle and disappears at 2000rpm.

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I knew a previous employee at the dealership here and now don't trust them because when he was first hired on, they told him he was working too fast and to bill more hours to the client. That pisses me off. Could happen anywhere I suppose but it's jokingly called a stealership for a reason. Thanks for the info though. My head is spinning.

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Sweet jebus I hope it's not a bore score. And as to tensioner vs ramp my response is "uuuuhhhhhhh......." lol. This is not my strong subject. The mechanic I talked to said it sounded more like a plastic tick than a hard metallic click. He said if it's lifters it would probably sound "sharper." So with his plastic reference I'm assuming he ment the ramps then. He also said it's required to drop the engine to get to.

Call Doc at Rennsport KC and explain the symptoms and get his opinion. If you like what he says, it's really not that far up here for a major service especially since the car is drivable. If he confirms the diagnosis /estimate, then you know you are on the right track. I would trust Rennsport KC to both get it right and charge a very fair price. Doc doesn't hang much in the 996 forum but he is an active Rennlister.

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Well a plastic tic sure pays better than a metal one of all you're going to do is swap tensioners. In my boxster only one is hard to reach, and I think it works to the advantage of the 996 in this case since it should be nearly visible with the engine backwards (ducking) I can't see it involving dropping the engine nor touching intake or exhaust manifold bolts. $3k for the long ramps? I'm not shocked by that number. 95% labor. WAY more a job.